Once upon a time in Kita Kyushu, four young friends, like millions
before them, decided to act upon their obsession and form a band.
Unlike most, however, The Roosters became big stars, forging an iconic
presence in the Japanese rock 'n' roll world that is still vital today.
However, things change. The band went through more than its share of
trials, from mental problems to plain old burnout, weathering the loss
of their lead vocalist (and key songwriter) Shinya Ohe. But they
soldiered on, writing hits and hitting peaks until their dissolution in
the late 80s...but even post breakup, The Roosters never truly split.
In addition to the odd reunion gig, they spent so much time on each
others' solo projects that assorted members from the group's long
history decided to make it official, banding together to form The Rock
'n' Roll Gypsies, a dark, powerful four piece that takes the original
Roosters philosophy of straight ahead rock 'n' roll and infuses it with
a sound that's simultaneously modern and traditional.
Recently, band members Hiroyuki Hanada, Jun Shimoyama, and Junji
Ikehata sat down with Jrawk to discuss rock 'n' roll (of course,)
perseverance, and the ever shifting landscape of Japanese music...
HH: Hiroyuki Hanada / JS: Jun Shimoyama / JI: Junji Ikehata
JR: If you'll pardon the question...being a band from near Fukuoka in
the late 70s, you're sometimes lumped in with Mentai Rock. The bands
we've spoken to that get categorized under that group haven't seemed to
be fond of the term...
HH: Well...that's not such a good term! (everybody laughs)
JR: That seems to be the general consensus! So Mentai Rock was a media construct.
JS: Masa Hidaka (rock promoter who would eventually mastermind the
yearly Fuji Rock festival) came up with it, yeah. He was trying to sell
the bands from that area as a package.
JR: The bands from that place in that era really fixated on blues based rock, pub rock bands.
 |
| Junji Shimoyama (L) and Hiroyuki Hanada |
JI: Yeah, Dr. Feelgood especially.
HH: Early Stones as well.
JR: Did you associate with punk at all?
HH: Well, we were students at that time, and that's what was happening around us. It was part of the same energy.
JI: You could hear the Ramones, Dr. Feelgood, and John Peel was on the
radio. If you were really lucky, you might catch something on the radio.
HH: (Unlike in the West,) there wasn't such a big distinction between
rock 'n' roll and punk. Iggy Pop, The Velvet Underground, The
Stooges...that was around, then when punk happened, that was the next
step. We were inspired by the energy of the punk scene at the time to
go out and start a band, but the dividing line between punk and
everything else wasn't really there.
JR: Was there any particular influence from Japanese rock at the time? Or were you more into foreign rock?
JI: Of course, you had Zuno Keisatsu, Murihachibu, bands like that, but yeah, we were into mostly foreign bands.
HH: Japanese music when we were growing up was mostly enka, kayou
kyoku, stuff the adults listened to. That was all that was really
available to us at that time, and we weren't interested. Still, you had
bands like Speed Glue and Shinki, The Flower Travellin' Band. The
distinction was: do they play their own instruments? Are they really
musicians? A lot of the GS bands, they'd have a professional
songwriter, then the band would perform what they were given, which was
the same format as enka, etc.
JS: Still, with GS, you had The Tempters. They're the only GS band that comes to mind in terms of being a real band.
JR: When did you decide to move from Fukuoka to Tokyo?
HH: When it became clear the debut album was going to happen, we moved
to Tokyo. We pretty much stayed there after that. We were about 20 or
so.
 |
| The Roosterz's Phi (1984) |
JR: You became pretty successful quickly. Was there a moment when it occurred to you "hey, we made it"?
JI: After we had been playing big halls for a couple of years, it
started to feel like success...but that's when (original Roosters
vocalist Shinya) Oye-san started having issues. We had achieved some
success, but as soon as that happened, it seemed like the whole thing
could fall apart.
JR: Do you think that tension helped fuel the creative process?
JI: Not really! I ended up quitting, and the other guys kept going.
JR: So when Oye-san left after "Phi," there wasn't any great debate as to whether or not to continue?
JS: I hadn't joined the band yet when it first started getting bad. I
joined, they (Oye and Ikehata) quit, but Oye-san came back. Then, just
as we were going to tour, he quit again!
We talked about continuing. Ultimately, we decided to take it as it comes. The whole situation was still pretty shocking.
JR: This was in 1984, and the band continued until 1988. Why stop then?
HH: Basically, we had reached our limit. We had accomplished what we
set out to do, it was done. We were ready to move on. There weren't any
strong feelings about what to do or where to go next.
JR: Despite the split, you kept working together. Why come back as the Rock 'n' Roll Gypsies?
HH: It started off as my solo project. I had asked these guys to play
on it, and things just naturally moved from there. Right after my
second solo album, we played some live shows in the Kita Kyushu area.
It was a good opportunity for everybody to get back together, and from
that point, we started working on songs together that became the first
Rock 'n' Roll Gypsies album.
JR: So with the rock 'n' Roll Gypsies going, why resurrect the Roosters in 2004?
HH: Oye-san had made a kind of comeback: he was doing well, had a new
band, new music. If there was a time to do it, it was then, and (Fuji
Rock's) Hidaka-san approached us about playing the festival that year.
JR: Most of your career was spent in Tokyo, but do you ever think of yourself as a band from Fukuoka?
JS: Actually, we're from Kita Kyushu! (laughs)
JI: Kita Kyushu isn't far from Fukuoka in terms of geography, but it's
a different culture. It's more similar now, in terms of the music
scene, but really, Fukuoka was a bigger, more successful city, whereas
Kita Kyushu was more industrial. Back then, there was a pretty big
difference in terms of the culture, music scene, and identity.
 |
| Rock 'n' Roll Gypsies' Debut (2003) |
JR: Ah, thanks for clearing that up!
JI: It's kind of like the difference between LA and Detroit!
JS: Like the MC5...Kita Kyushu is Detroit in that example!
JI: We left because there was nowhere else to go: we had hit the limits of the music scene.
JR: We recently had a long conversation with (Shinji) Masuko-san from
DMBQ, where we talked about having uniquely Japanese perspectives, and
how that's important for some musicians, not so important for others.
Do you think of yourselves in terms of being a specifically Japanese
band?
JS: Bands from that generation...DMBQ, Guitar Wolf, Shonen
Knife...they're a generation younger than us, and they've toured
America, which gives them a different perspective. But our generation,
we grew up listening to Western rock, and played for the people around
us. We didn't think about origins. We're Japanese, of course, but this
music is music we grew up with, and it's just a natural part of who we
are.
JR: Did you ever think about touring outside Japan?
HH: Well, of course, that would be great, but people of our
generation...the generation after us, Guitar Wolf, Shonen Knife,
they're of the mindset that they just get their tickets and go. It's a
different attitude, we didn't think about it. Also, there's the
impression that if Americans want to hear Japanese music, they'll be
interested in things like YMO, not rock 'n' roll.
JR: OK. Any plans for the future?
HH: Record the next album!
